CECRET BY CE GALLERY GROUP EXHIBITION NO. 1

ALEXIS JONES

Canyon Head

26” x 26”

Wood, acrylic, acrylic paint.

$2900

Acid Rain

14.75” x 4.75”

Acrylic paint, matte clear spray paint, on clear acrylic

$600

Carion

14.75” x 4.75”

Acrylic paint, matte clear spray paint, on clear acrylic

$600

Neon Dawn

14.75” x 4.75”

Acrylic paint, matte clear spray paint, on clear acrylic

$600

Hi, my name is Alexis Jones, I am a painter and 3d artist that is currently working with salvaged and repurposed wood and acrylic pieces. I worked at a sign shop where I gathered the majority of the materials I use today. Every week, tons of material that had passed from hand to hand on the production floor, doted on and painstakingly crafted only to be tossed away because it did not meet an arbitrary standard of perfection or a perceived loss of its usefulness. I envisioned the waste laying in a landfill, once made from raw material now refined to a point that it was hostile and alien to the very ground it came from. I saw the excess of it all and saw the beauty in its potential. I decided to repurpose as much as I could. Dubbed the “Trash Queen” by my fellow workers, I embarked on my mission. From the wood, hunks of acrylic down to the paint, wood stain almost every part of my works were made with items that were previously discarded. I have overlaid and cut(some by hand, some by laser) shapes into the materials unnaturally smooth in their shape but organic in their movement. I utilize colors often found in nature. I often leave the blemishes that caused their rejection: burns, cuts, bumps, an unruly lip to remind the viewer of its worthiness beyond beauty and profitability.

ALISON FULLERTON

Alison comes to Nashville via New York, Austin, and Stuttgart, Germany where she lived and immersed herself in European encaustics, German expressionism, and ceramics from 2016-2019. She traveled extensively across Europe studying with artists in several countries. She worked in a sculpture atelier with Birgit Feil, and was invited to membership in Stuttgarter Kunstlerbund, the oldest art guild in Germany. As a teen Alison studied fine craft and pottery at Rochester Institute's School of Craft before enrolling at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a master’s in advertising. She worked in marketing and teaching, and in 2012 founded "Ms. Biz Youth Entrepreneurs." a STEM/Maker education initiative teaching creative coding & entrepreneurship to kids. In 2016 she moved to Germany and became a full-time artist.

Alison has exhibited in the US and Europe in galleries and museums, at Vanderbilt University, and has authored articles about encaustic wax. Her work was recently on 10 Nashville billboards, on the cover of Wax Fusion magazine, and she was invited to teach and speak at the International Encaustic Association's National conference.

Alison combines organic, ancient materials such as encaustic and clay, with new hitech textiles and construction materials. Her abstracts combine encaustic with textiles, paper, clay, tar, lime putty and shellac. Alison takes a maker-centered, experimental approach, learning by tinkering with nontraditional media. She is inspired by abstract artist Mark Bradford, "If Home Depot doesn't have it, Mark Bradford doesn't need it."

My encaustic wax wall sculpture explores the harmony and disharmony of nature & man. I find great meaning in materials, and for years worked exclusively in organics. But this body of work is born out of my frustration with man-made non sustainable packaging. As I experimented with the goal of re-purposing, I discovered fascinating properties, particularly when heated or combined with clay or encaustic. It's my hope that these works spark curiosity and conversations about materials and their sustainability.

Encaustic, which is pigmented beeswax; was used by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians for repairing ships and for painting. My wall sculpture combines packaging, construction textiles, asphalt, lime putty, tar, and shellac with clay, beeswax, damar resin, and pigments.

BALEY BODDEN

Baley Bodden is a Nashville/New York based, self-taught artist who is held to be Nashville’s up and coming face of not only intimate pop art but a trail blazer in the feminine NFT space. As a powerhouse female artist and an avant-garde in all facets of social media marketing, she has formed into a global brand and uses her art to embody one to be unapologetic, sexy, and authentic. Bodden is paving the oh so glamorous passage ode to pop art for generations to come.

"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" Fall 2022

Bodden recently debuted her solo exhibition show in New York City, "In the Mood,” featuring muted pieces that convey sensual experiences taking the traditional shame away from the visceral moment. A few of her one of one pieces have been exclusively held from her solo Meatpacking show for their launch at the KAF exhibition in Seoul, Korea. During her month long stay in NYC, she emulated pieces that conveyed commitment though intimacy, which many will say is lost in our day in time.

Baley Bodden aspires to make an impact on lives throughout the world from Nashville to New York City to Seoul to Paris. Bodden wants to create a fortress of artistic messages to today’s society establishing that commitment and loyalty are sexy. This should be a learning lesson for all, as we move through this life, and she is here to breathe that life back into our society through her most creative and artistic inhibitions.

BRANDONMADETHIS

UNTITLED, 2021

Acrylic on glass in frame.

Triptych $2500

In this triptych,, the artist exercises and tests the limits of his signature liquid abstract acrylic methods by applying them to panes of glass. By only partially obscuring the surface of the glass, the paintings create the illusion of weightlessness

BRUCE MATTHEWS

Presence

50” X 44”

Oil on stretched canvas

$12,000

A native Nashvillian, Bruce Matthews discovered painting as a form of selfexpression as a young adult.

After 50 years of exploration, he is a self-taught master of oils on canvas. Before devoting himself to painting full-time in 1987, Matthews did magazine, book, and album cover illustration work. Matthew’s work is in corporate and private collections through the United States including the Tennessee State Museum. In a remote studio nestled in the Tennessee forest his works have moved fluidly from surrealist tableaus to trompe l’oeil collages. He is currently busy with commission requests as well as new expressions and explorations.

Studio Space for Rent

50” x 40”

Oil on stretched canvas

$11,000

CAITLIN BLOMSTROM

Caitlin Blomstrom (she/her) is an artist and arts professional with a BFA in Painting + Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She was an artist-in-residence at Penland School of Craft in 2023 and at Kunstraum in Brooklyn, NY in 2022. She was featured in New American Paintings in 2018. Caitlin lives and works in Nashville, TN.

I create paintings and art objects as a way to interpret my surroundings and to re-contextualize everyday encounters. I am interested in representing quiet, mundane encounters, humorous and uncanny scenes that you might find on a walk or in an artist’s studio. Some of my paintings employ a painting technique called trompe l’oeil (trick of the eye). Using this technique allows me to document ideas and experiences happening around me by reproducing life-like paintings of objects and scenes around me. In some paintings I have rendered curled painter’s tape and hyper-realistic wood grain in an effort to encourage the viewer to look closer. Though the trompe l'oeil effect is fleeting, what remains after the viewer realizes that the curled tape is not real, are questions about authenticity and materiality. I also like that these paintings document the artist's process. An ongoing series in my practice are paintings of abandoned flowers which I find and photograph for reference. At their lightest, these paintings are meant to be humorous and at their heaviest they exist to contemplate the passage of time, decay and death.

I also create small plein air paintings which are meant to be a record of time spent observing. I am interested in representing mundane scenes in the traditional medium of oil paint because in elevating and reframing the context of an ordinary scene a value shift occurs. For me, the decision to paint small moments is a deliberate act to elevate the ordinary. As an artist and curator, it is important for me to connect with the creative community. Observing other disciplines, sharing ideas, and building relationships with other makers is invaluable to my practice.

Untitled, 2023

9” x 12”

Oil and acrylic on panel

$1000

EMILY BROWN

‘Stitches’

29.5” x 36"

Canvas, 100% genuine leather and leather cording, black matte floating frame

$3000

E.E. Brown was born in 2021 by Emily Brown, a Nashville resident. Emily has been working with leather textiles since the age of 13 when she had crafted her first leather handbag. From the initial creation, Emily developed a passion for design and textures. With this passion realized, she created her first company, Red Velvet designed by Em in 2011. She handcrafted leather handbags, wallets, and backpacks and went on to be the youngest artist to sell in the Geneva Fine Arts Festival in 2012 (Geneva, IL). Today, Emily's passion for leather and design hasn't stopped, but only evolved. She is no longer creating handbags or accessories but crafting modern wall art pieces to enhance any space within your home. Emily's designs are inspired by various things but mostly can be accredited to her love for Mid Century Modern design, the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and her father.

CHRIS AMMONS

Chrimmons (Chris Ammons) is an artist, filmmaker and creative director living and working in Nashville, TN, where he makes work with heart, soul and style.

His work deals with themes of toxic masculinity, the male gaze, pop culture, beauty standards, duality and trusting the process through the lens of experimental cinema, mixed media, collage, and music.

His recent film “Two Women” has been featured in festivals in the United States, Paris (twice) (it won Best Experimental Short at Paris Women Festival), and Brazil.

As a creative director he has won multiple awards for advertising and design and led a multi-disciplinary team in the making of a FIFA World Cup sponsorship campaign for Slack.

His work is textural, bold and graphic with strong composition and a clear voice.

JONATHAN KRIMSIER

“Maggot brain”

11.5” x 9.5”

Epoxy and metalflake on walnut burl veneer and wood platform $600

As an anatomist by trade, my days are spent studying, dissecting, and explaining the body’s form and function. Through my work I present the wonders of the human body in a modality that is not only aesthetically pleasing and approachable, while still maintaining a degree of accuracy that enables a further conversation towards the anatomy. These works act as an endless series of exercises for myself to uncover and explain the beauty, and my profound sense of awe and marvel of the human body; it is through these exercises that I have had the opportunity to glimpse the beauty of the human spirit.

Green Mind

11.5” x 9.5”

Epoxy on veneered

plexiglass and wood LED lights

$800

Keisha Lopez

‘‘Laguna

de Luna Creciente’

(No 2 of 6)

20” Diameter

Mixed media with resin on tondo canvas

$650

Earth Star, 2022

40” x 18”

Acrylic and mixed medium on artist made form

$3700

Keisha Lopez, B.S.A., is multi-cultural Latin artist based in Nashville, Tennessee. Her work explores themes of transformation, cultural ties, and duality by re-integrating her ancestral Mestiza heritage. Lopez does this by creating liminal spaces shifting between landscapes and visions. She explores creativity as a mode of community-building, growth, and intergenerational trauma healing. Currently she is in graduate studies for MFT and integrates creativity into her developing psychotherapy practice.

My Mind Is a Garden

Latest Works by Keisha Lopez

My mind is a garden. Sometimes it feels desolate, uninhabitable, and overgrown with cluttered thoughts. It can spin back and forth through the seasons, but there are intuitive moments of color that have been passed across generations. These moments carry my thoughts forward and remind me to clear the weeds that seek to overcome. With each gentle act of care, my mind gets closer to the season of blooms.

LISA REED-PRESTON

Lisa Reed Preston is a visual disruptor, using abstraction and exploring technology to create immersive and interactive experiences that merge the physical and the digital world. Lisa explores opportunities and obstacles through diverse mediums including mixed media painting and augmented & virtual reality to create the future of arts.

Contemplating the Horizon

Lisa Reed Preston is a self-taught artist who embraces the beauty of abstraction and interprets it through her fine art paintings, augmented reality paintings, and virtual reality art experiences. Growing up a military child and oldest of 4, Lisa spent much of her youth moving and adapting to new environments. At the age of 11, she won her first art contest. For years, Lisa lost focus on her childhood passion as the challenges and practicality of life replaced youthful whimsy. Upon moving to the Nashville area,

$3000

she rediscovered her passion for creativity and became part of the Plowhaus Artist CoOp. Most recently, Lisa participated in Nashville Arts and Business Council’s Periscope 2022 class, showed her augmented reality fine art paintings at Artclectic! Nashville, TN, and was featured on the popular Nashville billboard as the Artist of the Week.

Lisa’s varied life experiences continued as an audio engineer, graphic designer, STEM and robotics teacher, and data analyst provide her with an enthusiasm for problem solving and experimentation. For the last 18 years, Lisa has resided with her husband in Bellevue, TN.

Contemplating the Horizon was one of my first large abstract explorations. I was particularly interested in contrast and allowing myself to be intuitive and less intentional with each stroke. This painting helped me open my color palette as well as gave me the feeling of freedom I needed to move forward. It was in essence my contemplation of all that would be possible in abstract painting. This painting was recently recognized as Best In Show at the Camelback Gallery Abstracts with Red 2023 exhibit.

MADELINE KIEL

Madeline's deep desire for art showed itself at a young age but took a turn in 8th grade when she was bullied for her art. This turn of events shut her down and she stopped painting entirely. From the ages of 13 - 22 Madeline rarely, if at all, picked up a paint brush. It wasn't until she found herself at 22 when she was inspired to paint again. She remembers the feeling of being alive when completing her first piece after ignoring art for so long. At this time in Madeline's life, she had been highly impacted by God and was living as a missionary causing Madeline's love for painting to manifest itself by painting God and humanity. At this point in her life, art was still only a side passion, with her focus on music. Fast forward to January 2022, at 30 years old, Madeline found herself out of money and not making anything off music. Heartbroken and needing a change, Madeline decided to lay down music and focused on art. She kept seeing images of Cowboys and Native Americans. Her first piece was one of Si Wata Wa, a zuni tribe leader from the 1900's. After that it was a natural progression of cowboys and natives. The piece that changed her life was one she did of Snoop Dogg as a cowboy. Her love for western lifestyle, pop culture and people can be found in her pieces today. Madeline's dream is to continue to grow her art and paint expressive moody portraits that display the soul of a person.

"It's All Gucci With The Samburu Brothers"

While in Kenya, working in Masai land, Madeline Kiel was blessed to meet the elders of the Samburu people. These two elders work hard to eliminate the cruelty found in East African tribal tradition helping their children to attend school and have a promising future. Moved by their presence, Madeline Kiel painted this portrait to honor their lives. She chose to make one of the elders hat GUCCI to show the juxtaposition between high society and the unseen people of the world.

"Within The Divine"

While in Kenya, working in Masai land, Madeline Kiel was honored to meet the chieftess of the Samburu people. Wisdom and strength proudly rested on the shoulders of this woman. Her presence was unmatchable and moved Madeline Kiel to paint in an attempt to capture her. Madeline Kiel chose to paint her with a three fourths halo to show the beautiful coexistence of her divine nature and humanness.

It’s all Gucci with the Samburu Brothers

on canvas with gold leaf

x 48”

Within The Divine

on canvas with gold leaf

MARLEN LUGO

Unsynchronized Swimmer

32” x 46”

Water base colors, collaged paper and decal in frame

$4800

Tuxedo Fertilizer

32” X 46”

Water base colors, collaged paper, burlap and leather in frame

$5600

Butterfly Scientist

32” x 46”

Framed, water base colors and collaged paper in frame

$5600

Bell Skirt

27” x 35”

Water base colors in frame

$3800

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, I grew in a surreal vision environment where events took magical qualities and informed my day-to-day life.

I came to the United States to attend art school in Boston. After receiving a BFA from Tufts University I became involved with a group of artists creating site-specific installations.

2021 has brought me to Nashville TN. Here my work has been influenced by the lake and nature that exists outside my studio. There is a greater amount of contemplation and dreams That are manifesting through my visual work. As seasons evolve so is the art that I experiment with daily.

I engage in Drawing and Painting daily. As a surrealist I allow for my forms to manifest through my pen, scratching the surface to inhabit a space that is not fixed.

As dismembered pieces or exquisite corpses, I assemble them into paper and paint, pulling them together into one, making them whole.

The results are amorphous, ever changing. The viewer can identify or not with an aspect of the self. One thing today, another tomorrow.

Not limited to visual reverie, their context gives them life, sometimes meaning. Nature comes through and gets re-interpret. I am their tool of portrayal: And through a personal aesthetic they emerge.

The latest body of work is inspired by an imaginary place called The Republic of Wonder.

Here, in Reverie my characters are portrayed in singular activities that could be human, however they are not singular. These characters have tools and aspirations that are interchangeable with other members of the Republic.

They are shown at times surrounded by geometric patterns to give them dimension in a physical reality, as if physicality will contain their boundless nature.

MARTEJA BAILEY

I’m an artist, the medium I use is oil. I wouldn’t classify myself as just a portrait artist unless I had to. The reason I wouldn’t put myself just to portraits is because I will paint just about anything that inspires me.

For the most part, I try to paint primarily what I see in my mind with points of reference to develop structure on occasion. A lot of my work is centered around mental health, my own in addition to what I see within my community. That is my main source of inspiration, hidden sadness.

To explain that further, I’d first like to discuss a piece titled “Shadow Work.” While creating this piece, I was in a rocky mental state, and I wanted to paint a reflection of what I was feeling at the time. It shows in the inconsistency of my brush work as well as what I decided to paint. The piece is half of a face with tears coming out of the darkness. Essentially that is what shadow work represents for me. Coming out of a dark place but rather than staying out of it, embracing it. That’s the beauty of sadness and what my work represents.

MICHAEL SANTORO

$4500

Michael Santoro is a fine art photographer exploring liminality. His work extends from a background in cinematography and a passionate interest in large-format printmaking. This current body of work details platonic love and its relationship with light and space.

In The Firmament

Speak with Volume and talk in Time

These Vertices

These fragile points between You and I

Pigment print, acrylic face mount

$2800

Diaphanous 28” x 35”

Pigment print, acrylic face mount

Third Body 20” x 30”

NATALIE ELEFANTE

Disco

Mobiles - Rotating Mobile Art Installation by Soular Structures

Soular Structures is a project by Nashville based artist Natalie Elefante, specializing in installations and concepts that bring movement and light together. Sparkling reflective lampshades dance around the guests with prismatic tones and refracting, color changing lights.

Misc. fabric chandeliers, lampshade art, disco balls

$2500 Inquire for commissions

OMARI BOOKER

Omari Booker, visual artist based in Nashville, TN and Los Angeles, CA, began his journey as an artist his senior year of high school at Montgomery Bell Academy. While attending Belmont University, Omari studied Mathematics and other more traditional curricula before he finally focused on studio art and graphic design. He later earned his B.S. in Graphic Design from Tennessee State University.

Oil paintings are Omari’s predominant medium, but mixed media including charcoal, ink, and found objects are essential building blocks of his work and are used to create finished pieces. Large scale work has been a constant creative outlet for Omari, and murals have also become a consistent part of his creative practice.

Omari takes a process-oriented approach to his art, embracing it as a therapeutic modality through which he is able to express his passion for the freedom and independence that the creative process allows him to experience. His art is his personal therapy, and his desire is that those viewing it will have personal experiences of catharsis. The philosophy that undergirds Omari’s work is FREEDOM THROUGH ART and he aspires to create work that communicates to his audience their unique and intrinsic ability to be free. see more work @omaribooker.com

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